Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Gere-Shilpa issue

The controversy generated by Hollywood star Richard Gere kissing Shilpa Shetty during an AIDS awareness programme in Delhi has given another opportunity for the so-called moral brigade to create a ruckus.

While we are gradually becoming global in terms of computers, cell phones, cars, pizzas, and pastas, we are reluctant to accept the western culture of hugging and kissing on the dais. It happens in the West during all award-giving functions.

N. Nagesh,
Chennai

* * *

Compared to the obscenity in the present-day movies, which find their way into people's living rooms, the Shilpa-Gere scene pales into insignificance.

P.G. Menon,
Chennai

* * *

Agreed, the display of emotions was uncalled for that too in an AIDS awareness programme. But what about the highly obscene dance sequences on small screen and in almost every Bollywood movie?

The same people who are raising a hue and cry today are glued to the television and flock to the theatres to relish those scenes. Isn't this hypocritical?

Deepak Joshi,
Mumbai

* * *

Gere's act was uncalled for. What was the need to indulge in such frenzy when you know the customs and sentiments of the country you are in?

Also what is the need to get Bill Gates or Richard Gere to spread AIDS awareness in our country? Don't we have our own government machinery, NGOs, and celebrities to do the needful?

Colonel R.D. Singh,
Jammu

* * *

When Prince Charles visited India in the 1980s, actor Padmini Kolhapuri kissed him. There was no public fury then. But this time round, right-wing activists have created a furore.

Have our self-proclaimed moral custodians metamorphosed over the years? It must also be said that Gere who is well versed with Indian culture need not have displayed his emotion thus.

C. Anand Isaac,
Chennai

* * *

It is a pity that the electronic media give such extensive coverage to the rowdy elements creating the impression that the whole nation is one with their cause.

In the busy world of today, who has the time to worry about who kissed whom? The media, it seems, are ever ready to take up any issue howsoever trivial.

Manasa Gade,
Hyderabad

* * *

The Hindu has done a commendable job by not giving much space to the issue when most newspapers carried it as their lead stories.

It is unfortunate that the media hype such useless celebrity issues. As a result, the celebrities become more famous than they would have using their genuine talent.

Sudhanva V. Kinhal,
Mangalore

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